Anti-Fogging Treatments for New Masks. (a comparison of techniques)

[Couv]

Other suggestions???

Regardless of which "new mask" or "mask from hell" treatment each mask gets, it still must be defogged just prior to diving it. I would like to know the results after defogging.

If I remember correctly, a standard /same defogging solution was to be used (baby shampoo and water) on each group. That will give us a more real life example as we all defog prior to diving.

Thanks for all of the effort you're putting into this.

Couv

 

[lowviz]

If I remember correctly, a standard /same defogging solution was to be used (baby shampoo and water) on each group. That will give us a more real life example as we all defog prior to diving.

That remains a given, yes, correct. But first, let's determine the root of the problem with the glass. Then test the treatment for that problem with defog for a real-world application. This is still basic materials investigation...

In other words, the masks are beginning to show some fine detail and I don't want to cover this clue up with defog.

For example, cigar-lighter flaming vs. soot flaming is starting to make sense:

FLAME PRETREATMENT
This pretreatment method for glass was one of the first to become an industry standard for printing. Before being exposed to the flame, the glass is wiped down with a lint free towel or an isopropyl alcohol wipe. Flame treating uses high heat within the oxidation layer of the flame to increase the surface energy of the glass, which increases wettability. Wettability refers to the degree to which a liquid spreads out on the surface of a solid. Spreading is necessary for maximum adhesion. The contact angle formed between the liquid and solid is a good indicator of the degree of wetting. When the angle is 0-degrees, the ink is spreading. When the contact angle is between 0 and 90-degrees, wetting occurs. Smaller angles indicate better wetting. As you might have guessed, adhesion forces should be larger than cohesive forces. Increased wetting and adhesive forces lead to optimal conditions for the ink to bond and adhere to the surface. The AutoFlame 360 system sold by Inkcups cleans and prepares the surface for printing as part of the overall print cycle.

Pretreatment Methods for Glass - The Inkcups Solution

 

[Jcp2]

I think the soot treatment left residue all over the lens besides what was visible. What was the order of treatment? Maybe you removed that residue in just those areas that you treated afterward?

 

[lowviz]

That is entirely possible, soot was done first. So I'll add a central soot treatment to one of the reference lenses to see if it messes up the reference side...

 

[Pearlman]

On My last trip to Komodo in 2017 - I had a new mask - the first three days was relatively ok. I had tried the application of toothpaste before commencing the trip (and baby shampoo once every morning) but it only worked the first few days. The 4th day at Manta Alley My entire dive was ruined with less than 20% visibility just as we found the Mantas. I was almost blind the entire dive.

After the dive, the DM confidently applied a cigarette lighter flame to my mask without burning the silicone/rubber skirting around it and that fixed it. I had been afraid of ruining my brand new mask with a flame - more due to improper technique, and it ruined what should have been the highlight of the trip - completely. It been crystal clear since then with due care and shampoo treatment before each dive.

There was blackening of the residue on the glass after the treatment but it came off easily with a wash.

P

 

[lowviz]

Chasing down another rabbit-hole tonight.

While getting ready for second round of testing, I had an idea. Heat mask to max temp to release anything in the skirt while aggressively cleaning the glass surface with something that is acidic. No water, no solutions. But I want an acid treatment (see previous references).

Run-of-the-mill silicones can take 300F (150C) for extended periods, 350F for short times.

Aspirin melts at 275F and boils around 10 degrees higher. Aspirin it is. Ground up a tablet of Bayer Aspirin, exhaled on mask lens and dusted the lens:


Put the dusted mask into a cold oven and heated it to 290F (143C) for about ten minutes. Opened oven, cloud of white smoke. Figured that I killed my mask. Not so! Just aspirin smoke. Quite a coating on the glass:


Neither water nor rubbing alcohol was effective in removing the film. However, Clorox spray and some rubbing finally removed it.

Interesting part of all this is that either side of the nose pocket shows a patch of glass that absolutely will not fog. This is what I am looking for:


Tomorrow: Aspirin dust, bake, remove the film with toothpaste. Nice part is, it is really easy to see what has to be removed and how good of a job you did at removing it...

Stay tuned.

 

[Pearlman]

Careful - most glasses including spectacle lenses have some kind of treatment/coating applied to minimize reflections and glare. You might undo whatever good was done in the factory for good. We only want the layer removed that is put in place to keep the glass looking crystal clear and smudge free before its sold.

P

 

[lowviz]

That would be the next level.

Right now, I'd be very happy to find an easy and effective treatment for uncoated lenses.

 

[АлександрД]

Aspirin dust, bake, remove the film with toothpaste.

Why you use toothpaste? Aspirin is water soluble substance! It should be enough to use just hot water, is not it?

 

[lowviz]

Those were my initial thoughts too! The problem seems to be that 'pure' aspirin has a bunch of excipients in it.

Once the mask cools, you will find that the glass is covered with a tough, highly water-REPELLENT coating that most likely comes from:

Active Ingredients: In Each Tablet: Aspirin (324 Mg) (Nsaid). Inactive Ingredients: Carnauba Wax (May Contain This Ingredient), Corn Starch, Hypromellose, Powdered Cellulose, Triacetin.

Carnauba Wax is probably the last thing on earth that I want on the glass, but I tried Bayer Aspirin anyway just to see what would happen. -thus my use of a "non-study" mask. I tried fogging the mask again this morning, exact same result.

I want a simple effective treatment so forget dissolving the Aspirin in water, filtering, and recrystallizing. That film can be dealt with. Dissolving it in something seems like the wrong way to go. I'm trying mechanical means first. Open for ideas, as usual...

BTW, Aspirin has an interesting history: A history of aspirin